In recent decades, the Muslim faith has continued to change. And its most visible final metamorphosis is manifested through the phenomenon of “Muslim influencers”, who embody a new vision of religion: a practice integrated into globalization, based on a secular vision sprinkled with Muslim faith, which is combined with the values of Western modernity and submits to the capitalist values of the market.
For example, an influencer can encourage you to say your prayers well, to recite the dhikr [litanie islamique à la gloire de Dieu dont le nom signifie “souvenir”]do a two [une supplication islamique]and listening to religious sermons, but he can also wear designer clothes and encourage you to buy the same ones.
This is the reason that has motivated many people to get into the industry – not to broadcast religious content or promote authentic Islam, but to become famous and earn money, even if this requires watering down religion and presenting an Islam reduced to its simplest expression. The emergence of Muslim influencers has emptied Islam of its substance in order to adapt it to the demands of the market and followers.
An Islam of love and individualism
The model of faith presented by these influencers will neither bring people closer nor further away from religion, but rather it will give each follower the feeling, illusory no doubt, of being a good Muslim. In general, all discussions revolve around spirituality, individual behavior, and present a joyful, lighthearted faith, without reprimand or chastisement. An Islam where love prevails over the fear of Allah.
The discourse of these influencers carefully avoids all sensitive subjects – the Islamic legal tradition or its political aspects, the concerns of Muslim countries and Muslims, the need for reform – and is completely uninterested in affairs of state, whether in terms of human rights or the necessary reforms. These influencers prefer to focus on the individual, offering a practice intended to soothe, without ever upsetting the status quo.
One of the main characteristics of the discourse of influencers is therefore to focus on the individual as opposed to the collective. For them, Islam is not an emancipatory religion, which has a role to play in the face of tyranny. Influencers therefore present capitalist moral values, which are